Ichkeul National Park

Lake Ichkeul, UNESCO World Heritage site in Tunisia, Tourist Information Ichkeul National Park Tunisia, Travel Guide Destinations
Ichkeul National Park (Parc national de l’Ichkeul) is located in northern Tunisia. It covers 126 sq km and lies on the Mateur Plain approximately 30km south-west of the Mediterranean coast. The most distinctive features of the park are the wooded massif Djebel Ichkeul and a brackish permanent Ichkeul lake.
Besides its establishment in 1980 primarily to protect endangered birds in the area, the park is equally a global treasure because of the fossil deposits of the late Tertiary and early Quaternary outcrops on the northern shore. In 1996, Ichkeul National Park was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger because dams that had been constructed upstream had negatively affected the water flow course to Lake Ichkeul. This had greatly increased its salinity, dried up the marshes allowing livestock to degrade them, and greatly affected the area’s ecological balance.
Vegetation
Ichkeul National Park has a typical semi-arid ecosystem dominated by Mediterranean plant species. Distinct habitat varieties within the park include the mountain and its foothills, dominated by a lentisc with wild olive, phillyrea and Smilax aspera. There is also a wealth of the northern Tunisian plant species. The vegetation of the marshes is zoned.
Ichkeul Lake
Lake Ichkeul is the last great freshwater lake remnant of a chain that once stretched across North Africa. This shallow lake with its fluctuating water level and surrounding marshes are important for the extremely high numbers of wintering Palaearctic migrant waterfowl. In the years preceding its listing as a world heritage site, waterfowl numbers averaged about 250,000, but this has fallen dramatically as a result of the construction of dams on three of the main rivers feeding into the lake during the 80s. The waters in Ichkeul reach greatest salinity from July to October. Peak-season waterfowl counts reached an all-time low of around 11,000 in 2003, increasing to 35,000 in 2005 after two years of good rainfall.
Wildlife
With such a diversity of habitats, the property possesses a very rich and diversified fauna with more than 200 animal species sheltered here. Ichkeul is recognized as being extremely diverse largely due to the wide variety of habitats. One of the most notable of the mammals recorded at Ichkeul is the otter, which has been hunted for its meat. Of the larger mammals there are large populations of wild boar and introduced wild water buffalo; also a number of crested porcupine, jackal, genet, Egyptian mongoose, wild cat and four species of bat. Reptiles include two harmless species of snake. Pickerel frog is common in the marshes. There are also painted frogs, three species of frogs, two species of dangerous snakes and a lacertid.
Bird Life
Over 226 species of birds including 34 breeding residents are known to reside and visit the park. Lake Ichkeul and the marshes are exceptional stopover points for hundreds of thousands of migrating birds that winter at Ichkeul. Wintering wetland birds include the threatened marbled teal, ferruginous duck, and corncrake, and numbers of green-winged teal, northern pintail, northern shoveler and black-winged stilt. Flamingos are more prominent on the lake during summer. Predators include Booted Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Egyptian Vulture, Marsh Harrier, Lanner Falcon, Threatened Peregrine Falcon, Collared Pratincole and Moussier’s Redstart. Migrant Marsh Harrier and Reed Warbler are common, also the threatened migrant white stork. The rare Black Stork and Glossy Ibis are recorded.
Accommodation for Visitors
The only available accommodation option for the park safari visitors is Ichkeul Hotel near Menzel Bourguiba.
When to Visit Ichkeul Park:
The best time of the year to visit the park is during winter. The park hosts an amazing number of migratory birds during his period. Wildlife is also spectacular.
How to Get to Ichkeul National Park:
Accessing the Park is quite a challenge especially when visitors do not have their private transport. There is almost no sort of public transport that brings you to the park entrance. The best option would then be to arrange for a taxi from Menzel Bourguiba, which can be reached easily from any other major transport hub in the north eastern corner of Tunisia. Getting back is more difficult if you do not want to pay the taxi driver to wait.
Ichkeul Park Access Hours:
Opening hours seem to vary from time to time, but it usually opens between 06:00hrs and 08:00hrs, and closes between 18:00hrs and 20:00hrs. Also note that there are no entrance charge fees.